The commencement ceremony will be held at Stanford Stadium on June 15.

"Each year at commencement we encourage graduating students to think about the skills they have acquired and the impact they can have in the world," Stanford University President John Hennessy said in a statement. "I can think of few people who have put such advice to better use than Oprah Winfrey. She has not been content to simply succeed, and succeed spectacularly, at her given profession. She has relentlessly continued her education and sought to improve the world in remarkable and varied ways."

In recent years, Stanford's commencement speakers have included Tom Brokaw, Steve Jobs and Sandra Day O'Connor.